Extended-release Naltrexone (extended-release + naltrexone)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Effect of Extended-Release Naltrexone (XR-NTX) on Quality of Life in Alcohol-Dependent Patients

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 2 2009
Helen M. Pettinati
Background:, Extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) is a once-a-month injectable formulation for the treatment of alcohol dependence previously shown to reduce drinking and heavy drinking relative to placebo (Garbutt et al., 2005). A 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study established the efficacy and safety of XR-NTX in this patient population. In this report, the effect of XR-NTX on quality of life (QOL) was examined. Methods:, Alcohol-dependent patients were randomly assigned to receive XR-NTX 380 mg (N = 205), XR-NTX 190 mg (N = 210), or placebo (N = 209), combined with a standardized psychosocial intervention. QOL was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short-form health survey, administered at baseline and at 4-week intervals during 24 weeks of treatment. Results:, Compared with U.S. population norms, patients showed initial impairment in the health-related QOL domains of mental health, social functioning, and problems with work or other daily activities due to emotional problems. Adherence to all 6 injections was 65% for XR-NTX 190 mg, 63% for XR-NTX 380 mg, and 64% for placebo. Generalized estimating equations analyses using an intention-to-treat sample revealed that XR-NTX 380 mg was associated with significantly greater improvements from baseline in mental health (p = 0.0496), social functioning (p = 0.010), general health (p = 0.048), and physical functioning (p = 0.028), compared with placebo. Linear regression analyses revealed that reductions from baseline in drinking (percentage of drinking days and percentage of heavy drinking days in the last 30 days) were significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with improvements in quality of life. Conclusion:, Extended-release naltrexone 380 mg in combination with psychosocial intervention was associated with improvements in QOL, specifically in the domains of mental health, social functioning, general health, and physical functioning. [source]


Treatment of opioid dependence in adolescents and young adults with extended release naltrexone: preliminary case-series and feasibility

ADDICTION, Issue 9 2010
Marc J. Fishman
ABSTRACT Background Opioid dependence is an increasing problem among adolescents and young adults, but in contrast to the standard in the adult population, adoption of pharmacotherapies has been slow. Extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) is a promising treatment that has been receiving increasing interest for adult opioid dependence. Clinical chart abstractions were performed on a convenience sample of 16 serial adolescent and young adult cases (mean age 18.5 years) treated for opioid dependence with XR-NTX who attended at least one out-patient clinical follow-up visit. Case descriptions Of these 16 cases, 10 of 16 (63%) were retained in treatment for at least 4 months and nine of 16 (56%) had a ,good' outcome defined as having substantially decreased opioid use, improvement in at least one psychosocial domain and no new problems due to substance use. Conclusions These descriptive results suggest that XR-NTX in the treatment of adolescents and young adults with opioid dependence is well tolerated over a period of 4 months and feasible in a community-based treatment setting, and associated with good outcomes in a preliminary, small non-controlled case-series. This probably reflects an overall trend towards greater adoption of medication treatments for this population. [source]


Effect of Extended-Release Naltrexone (XR-NTX) on Quality of Life in Alcohol-Dependent Patients

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 2 2009
Helen M. Pettinati
Background:, Extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) is a once-a-month injectable formulation for the treatment of alcohol dependence previously shown to reduce drinking and heavy drinking relative to placebo (Garbutt et al., 2005). A 24-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study established the efficacy and safety of XR-NTX in this patient population. In this report, the effect of XR-NTX on quality of life (QOL) was examined. Methods:, Alcohol-dependent patients were randomly assigned to receive XR-NTX 380 mg (N = 205), XR-NTX 190 mg (N = 210), or placebo (N = 209), combined with a standardized psychosocial intervention. QOL was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short-form health survey, administered at baseline and at 4-week intervals during 24 weeks of treatment. Results:, Compared with U.S. population norms, patients showed initial impairment in the health-related QOL domains of mental health, social functioning, and problems with work or other daily activities due to emotional problems. Adherence to all 6 injections was 65% for XR-NTX 190 mg, 63% for XR-NTX 380 mg, and 64% for placebo. Generalized estimating equations analyses using an intention-to-treat sample revealed that XR-NTX 380 mg was associated with significantly greater improvements from baseline in mental health (p = 0.0496), social functioning (p = 0.010), general health (p = 0.048), and physical functioning (p = 0.028), compared with placebo. Linear regression analyses revealed that reductions from baseline in drinking (percentage of drinking days and percentage of heavy drinking days in the last 30 days) were significantly (p < 0.05) correlated with improvements in quality of life. Conclusion:, Extended-release naltrexone 380 mg in combination with psychosocial intervention was associated with improvements in QOL, specifically in the domains of mental health, social functioning, general health, and physical functioning. [source]


PRECLINICAL STUDY: Route of administration affects the ability of naltrexone to reduce amphetamine-potentiated brain stimulation reward in rats

ADDICTION BIOLOGY, Issue 4 2009
Mark S. Todtenkopf
ABSTRACT Opioid receptor antagonism has been shown to attenuate behavioral and neurochemical effects of amphetamine in humans and rodents. The effects of acute (oral or subcutaneous) or extended-release naltrexone (XR-NTX) were tested on the reward-enhancing effects of amphetamine using the intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS) paradigm. Acute exposure to drugs of abuse reduces the locus of rise (LOR) in the ICSS procedure, reflecting enhanced brain stimulation reward (BSR). Rats were treated once a day with naltrexone orally (PO; 5.0 mg/kg) or subcutaneously (SC; 0.5 mg/kg) for four consecutive days and tested with D-amphetamine (0.5 mg/kg, intraperitoneal) in the ICSS paradigm 30 minutes later on days 1 and 4. Separate groups of rats received XR-NTX (50 mg/kg, SC) or placebo microspheres (similar mass to XR-NTX, SC) on day 0 and tested with D-amphetamine in the ICSS paradigm on days 4, 14, 21, 28 and 41 after administration. Naltrexone plasma concentrations were determined for each amphetamine testing session using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In rats pretreated with naltrexone acutely, amphetamine-potentiated BSR did not differ from vehicle-pretreated rats on either day 1 or day 4 (25,30% decrease in LOR). In XR-NTX-pretreated rats, amphetamine-potentiated BSR was reduced by 64 and 70% on days 4 and 14, respectively, compared to placebo microsphere-treated controls. This effect dissipated by day 21. Naltrexone plasma concentrations were comparable across all treatment groups (14,30 ng/ml) on days 1, 4 and 14. In summary, an extended-release formulation of naltrexone results in significant attenuation of psychostimulant-enhanced BSR that is not observed with acute naltrexone. [source]